Box-press.



8.6. SMITH.

BOX PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. 27, 1914.

Patentfi May '25, 1915.

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8.6. SMITH.

BOX PRESS.

' APPL'ICATION FILED 06127, 1914, LMQARQ Patented May 25,1915.

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I W ATTORNEY THE NORRIS PETERS CO.. PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. D. C.

S. GRANT SMITH, OF NORTH YAKIMA, WASHINGTON.

BOX-PRESS Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented May 25. 11915.

Application filed Gctober 27, 1914. Serial No. 868,847.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, S. GRANT SMITH, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at North Yakima, in the county of Yakima and Washington State, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Box-Presses, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the ad companying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in box-presses; and an object of this invention is to provide a press capable of presslng and holding down the cover of a box filled with fruit (such as apples, pears and peaches), while the cover is being nailed on the box, and of thereby enabling a single workman to fasten the cover on the box quickly.

Another object of this invention cons sts in the provision of a press adapted to give a uniform bulge to the top of a frult box, after the cover thereof has been nailed thereon, and to distribute any excess bulge by causing a bulge in the bottom of the fruit box.

A third object of this invention hes in the provision of a box-press adapted to produce a box the thin cover-boards of which Wlll. be free from liability of being broken in the process of bending the cover-boards over a pile of fruit projecting from the box.

A fourth object of this invention resldes in the provision of a box-press of the charter hereinbefore referred to which w1ll be simple in construction, comparatively cheap in manufacture and efficient and rapid and labor-saving in operation and use.

The boxes in which fruit (such as apples, pears and peaches) is shipped are ordinarlly made of boards so thin that nailing-strips or cleats (which extend across the ends of the bottom and cover-boards) are required to prevent these thin boards in the handling of the boxes from being torn away from the nails. These cleats serve furthermore a sec ond purpose in that, when the filled boxes are piled up, the cleats serve to hold the bottoms of the boxes out of contact with one an other and thereby to relieve the fruit in the lower tiers of boxes from the weight of the superposed boxes and the contents of the latter. In packing fruit boxes, they are usually filled so that the fruit projects above the top edge of the box; and, in applying the cover or top-boards, the ends of the boards must be pressed down against the ends of the box and held there, together with the nailing cleats, While the securing nails are the cover-boards, while the nailing is being done.

In the drawings illustrating the principle of this invention and the best mode now known to me of applying that principle, Figure 1 is a front view of my new box press; Fig. 2 is a section on the line A-A of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of my new box-press; and Fig. 4 is a detail showing the curved hood.

The frame of the box-press consists of a pair of side standards a and a pair of legs 6, the lower ends of the latter being connected to the lower ends of the standards a by a baseboard or bottom strip 0 and the upper ends of the legs I) being connected to the middle portions of the standards a by side pieces d. The upper ends of the legs 6 are fastened together by a horizontal cross-piece e the ends of which project beyond the legs 6 and are formed with suitable handholds e; and, in rear of the box-press, the standards a are likewise fastened together by a similar horizontal cross-piece 7. By means of bolts 9' the pieces 6 and f are held firmly in place. Obviously the press may be moved from place to place by workmen grasping the handholds e of the strips 6, f. Between the latter there lies parallel therewith a crosspiece it the ends of which are suitably fastened to the upper side-pieces d; and, on each side of the box-press, there is arranged a nailing-block i the ends of which are supported by the members e, h. Upon each of the nailing-blocks a there is fastened a boxguide j. To the top of each of the standards a there is fastened a bracket is; and, upon these brackets k, there is secured a shelf m. The vertically-disposed traveling-frame n consists of vertical members 0, p, fastened together by crosspieces g, r, s, 25, the crossieces g, r, lying in rear of the standards a, while the crosspieces s, t, lie in front thereof; and the ends of these crosspieces bear against the standards a and serve in that way to guide the frame '71,. To pull down the frame n, there is provided a treadle a hinged at o to a crosspiece w the ends of which are fastened to the standards a. By means of links w, the treadle a is fastened to an I- bolt y which passes through the lower end of the middle vertical member ;0 of the frame n. To restore the frame to its raised or initial position, a pair of coil-springs a is provided. These springs z are fastened at their lower ends to the vertical member 39 and at their upper ends to the shelf m. To the vertical members of the traveling frame there is fastened a bracket 2; and to each of these brackets there is attached one end of a curved sheet metal hood 3.

The operation of my new boX-press'will be readily understood from the foregoingdescription and may be briefly set'forth as folloWsr'The operator, by pressing down tached hood 3 down so thatfthe latter engagesfthe cover-boards 4L and force the same over the fruit and into contact with the ends of'the box 5, thereby leaving the workmans hands free to nail the cleats 6 over the cover- 7 I mam ' A fruit-box press having a traveling carriage'; foot-operated means for actuating the same; and a curved hood attached to said carriage and arranged to hold down the top of the boX and to impartthereto a bulge within which fruit. 7

lies the topmost part of the" Signed at North Yakima, in the county of I Yakima and State of Washington, this 21st day of October, A. D. 1914:, in the presence of the-two undersigned witnesses.

I Witnesses:

GRACE L.- SLAsoR, "D. V. MORTHLAND.

Copies of this patent inay be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

i Washington, D. C.

s. GRANT sMrrI-I'. I 

